1. Field of the Invention:
The invention relates to a method of monitoring fatigue of preferably thermally and/or mechanically stressed structural component parts, such as in nuclear power plants or generating installations or in aircraft, with sensors attached to the outside of the monitored structural component parts.
2. Description of the Related Art:
Fatigue analyses for individual parts such as a feedwater nozzle in a nuclear power generating station, for example, have heretofore been performed on the basis of under-load specifications which, besides thermal and mechanical load data, contain assumptions regarding the expected frequency of mechanical load conditions. The disadvantage of such a specification resides in the theoretical assumptions which frequently do not agree with the stresses actually determined by measurement during operation.
On the other hand, an accurate fatigue analysis is desirable so that it can be predicted as precisely as possible when a given structural component part has reached its maximum degree of utilization and accordingly must be replaced.